The protagonist appears in profile. She is facing a strong (apparently natural) light, but her face is in shadow. Her calmness, and her lovely pearls, are her most notable qualities. Her calmness is particularly notable in light of the stack of seven skulls with crossbones next to her. Considering that one of the common meanings of this card is "reviewing what you've achieved," it's hard to avoid the speculation that she has somehow "achieved" the deaths that these skulls represent. And yet...if so...she is so at ease. No guilty conscience.

Is she a total sociopath? Or do these bones represent natural deaths, for example of her ancestors who have left her a splendid inheritance, including the lovely pearls? In which case, might she perhaps reflect that being an heir is not an achievement, and the achievements of previous generations might or might not be morally suspect.

7/Pents is a difficult card to create an image for as it's often about waiting, the "ripeness is all" factor--also trying to overcome failure (the card is sometimes called "Failure"). And, as you point out, MM, this includes reflection on what's been achieved. Essentially the card says that what comes fast fails, what comes slow is more likely to succeed, so one needs to learn patience.

I empathize with the card creators when it comes to finding the right picture to get this across. I'd certainly be stumped. That said, this card image is a little flat for me. It does have the feeling of the woman waiting, maybe to become one of those skulls? And her reflecting, rather like Hamlet, on the meaning of life (we all end up as skulls, right?). But it doesn't quite get across the essence of the card for me. I keep wondering if there's something I'm missing, a little extra in the shadows that would make me go "Oh!"

I get this card. What I see is a woman in profile looking at a stack of skulls. It is like the card is saying "what is and what will be". At the moment the woman is - a woman! We can see what covers her skull and the choker she is wearing echos the crossed bones that reside under the skulls. However, she has a lot more work to do and in the end she will become another skull on the wall. She looks in profile at the skulls which are positioned face onto us. So it echos the past\present (the woman) and the future (the skulls). The woman looks reflective and the light shining on her indicates "here and now".
Alisa13

I see the woman in this card as someone who has made many sacrifices (represented by the skulls), and possibly come through hard times. Now she is looking towards the East where the sun rises, flooding her being with light and casting the past into shadow.

Skulls have always been revered in different cultures, particularly the Aztecs, and Bolivians would keep family skulls for luck and success in business. This seems to relate to the traditional meaning of this card.

Of course a darker side could have the skulls represent people in her life who she has sacrificed in some way, to get where she is. The light on her could be guilt, her conscience finally being brought to task.

The pearls though, could also be relevant, as this card means waiting and patience, and it takes a long time for a pearl to grow. This makes me think that her rewards are earned justly rather than by devious means. I guess surrounding cards could have some influence.
For me I just got this card as my daily draw and it couldn't be more fitting.

I have spent the last year doing very little else but work hard towards a diploma and the first year if a BA. With looking after my home and family as well, there has been little time to play. At times I wondered if it was all worth it. Well, tomorrow I graduate with my diploma, with four A grades for my papers. I am then having a break, (in NZ we have our summer holidays now), and going back in Feb to continue my BA.

The Aeclectic Tarot Forum closed permanently on July 14th, 2017. The public threads remain online as a read-only archive and resource. More information on our decision can be found here. Thank you for being a part of our active community over the past seventeen years.